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Microfabricated Strontium Vapor Cells for Compact Optical Frequency References

Matthew T. Hummon, Yang Li, Samuel Porter, John E. Kitching

Published Jan 1, 2023• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We demonstrate FM laser spectroscopy at 461 nm using a microfabricated strontium vapor cell. These compact and manufacturable vapor cells may accelerate the development of quantum devices based on alkaline earth atoms.
DOI
10.1364/cleo_si.2023.sw4o.3

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We demonstrate strontium (Sr) atomic vapor cells having a total external volume of 0.63 cm 3 that can operate above 300 °C for times exceeding 380 h. The cells are fabricated using micromachined silicon frames anodically bonded to glass windows that have a 20-nm thick protective layer of Al 2 O 3 deposited on the interior surfaces. The presence of Sr vapor in the cell is confirmed through laser absorption spectroscopy for the 1 S 0 → 1 P 1 transition in Sr at 461 nm. Measurements of sub-Doppler linewidths indicated negligible (<3 MHz) broadening of this transition from residual background gas collisions. This compact and manufacturable, high-temperature atomic vapor cell can enable narrow-line optical frequency references based on strontium and other alkaline earth species.
Precision spectroscopy is an important tool across a wide array of applications, from communications, timing and navigation, to many emerging quantum technologies. I will talk about our groups work to enable robust operation and integration of spectroscopic techniques for laser stabilization using nanophotonics for light delivery and microfabricated vapor cells for containing atomic references. Our approach is able to span a large wavelength range, from the telecommunications band using on chip second harmonic generation to wavelengths in the blue using vapor cells containing alkaline earth atoms.
We report a 100 kHz linewidth for the 1 S 0 to 3 P 1 intercombination line of 88 Sr atoms at 689 nm in a microfabricated (9×14×4.4) mm 3 vapor cell. This puts an upper bound on the residual gas pressure in the vapor cell of 10 mTorr. The microfabricated Sr vapor cell offers an inexpensive and scalable way to lock lasers in state-of-the-art cold-atom-based atomic clocks and quantum computing experiments. It also paves the way for compact and precise optical frequency references based on alkaline earth vapor cells.
Microfabricated (MEMS) alkali vapor cells are at the core of high-precision integrated atomic quantum sensors and devices [1], such as microwave and optical clocks, or magnetometers. The first chip-scale atomic device was a microwave atomic clock based on coherent population trapping [2]. It has offered in its industrial and commercialized version an ultra-low size-power -instability budget, impacting a plethora of industrial and scientific applications. Nevertheless, the short-term stability of these clocks is usually limited at about 10−10 at 1 s. Hot vapor MEMS-based optical frequency standards constitute a new generation of miniaturized clocks, with enhanced stability. These references keep the benefit of using wafer-scalable and mass-producible vapor cells while preventing ultra-high vacuum technologies and laser cooling. Among the transitions explored, the 6S1/2 → 7P1/2 near-UV transition of Cs atom was used to demonstrate an optical reference with a stability of 2.1 × 10−13 at 1 s and averaging down to a few 10−14 [3]. However, this reference was based on a 5 cm-long glass-blown cell, not compliant with the advent of a fully-miniaturized and low-power optical clock. In this work [4], we present the characterization of sub-Doppler resonances detected in a microfabricated cell by probing, in a simple saturated absorption configuration, the Cs atom 6S1/2 → 7P1/2 transition at 459 nm. The impact of the laser intensity and cell temperature on the sub-Doppler resonance is experimentally investigated. Optimal values are identified for the development of a near-UV microcell-stabilized frequency reference. Detection noise measurements are also reported, predicting a short-term stability in the 10−13 range at 1 s. Tests of cells with embedded getters are under progress for improved purity of the cell inner atmosphere and narrowing of the resonance.